Someone who has ruled the film industry for over a decade, Deepika Padukone continues to do the same even this year. She has had an incredible 2022. In a single year, she managed to hit many career milestones speaking volumes for her unparalleled popularity, wide global appeal and unbeatable stardom. All of this while courting some of the biggest controversies.
She started the year with a bang with ‘Gehraiyaan’. Possibly her most raw, real and relatable character, Deepika Padukone went out on a limb for ‘Gehraiyaan’s Alisha, embracing her beauty and flaws with equal ease. The film made a lot of news for the way the intimate scenes were showcased. It brought in a new thing called the intimacy director in the film industry. However much the film earned in the returns, but for Deepika Padukone, she walked away with the best of accolades from the film. No one could have played the character the way she did.
Next, Deepika Padukone was also an honouree of the first-ever TIME100 Impact Awards, whose recognition was dual-pronged, for films and mental health advocacy. With this, she joined other leaders who, through sustained effort, have done extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world at large.
The country then had another reason to celebrate Deepika Padukone, who was chosen to be part of the exclusive and very illustrious jury for the 75th Festival De Cannes. Unquestionably the world’s most prestigious film gathering and one of the most widely publicised cultural events in the world; Deepika Padukone was the only Indian amongst the eight-member jury of the international competition.
She then became the first Indian to be signed on by the global luxury brand Louis Vuitton, which was later also followed by Cartier signing her as the brand ambassador. Conventionally luxury brands have always taken a product-first and brand-first approach, steering clear of endorsements. This unprecedented and monumental shift in the brand world, speaks volumes for the kind of confidence these big names have in Deepika Padukone as prior to this, these brands did not appoint any Indian or even other global celebrities to be ambassadors. Towards the end of the year, she also was selected as the brand ambassador for Pottery Barn, one of the biggest furniture retailers in the world. If anything, 2022 has cemented Deepika Padukone’s position as India’s biggest global brand ambassador.
To add to all of this, on the occasion of completing 15 years in the industry, Deepika Padukone sprung a surprise on her fans and announced her wellness and skincare brand 82°E, a modern self-care brand that is born in India, for the world. Within a short span of time, the brand has become a big thing, and people are thronging to get their first hand on the products.
Then came December, a month that Deepika Padukone truly and completely dominated – she had not just one but three blockbuster trending songs ‘Current Laga Re’, ‘Besharam Rang’ and ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’. The songs have been added to every party playlist in this holiday season, and people everywhere are dancing to the beats of these songs.
But the ultimate icing on the cake this December was Deepika Padukone unveiling the FIFA Football World Cup trophy cup at Lusail Stadium, Qatar, making her the first Indian in history to do the honours.
Amidst all of this Deepika Padukone also courted a few controversies this year. A lot was spoken about the intimate scenes in ‘Gehraiyaan’ even before the film was released. People even went on to comment that the film was trying to pollute Indian culture, etc. Deepika Padukone stood tall with the film and supported the vision that they were trying to portray, and once the movie was released, everyone realised how aesthetically those scenes had been shot, which didn’t have even an ounce of vulgarity.
Even in the past few weeks, the ‘Besharam Rang’ song from ‘Pathaan’ has gotten a lot of flak, for the colour of an outfit that Deepika Padukone sported in the song. Well, the actress has kept mum on the entire thing till now and is trying to pay no heed to such topics, which are trying to divert the attention away from the song, which has actually become a chartbuster.
Considering that all these once in a lifetime sort of achievements happened for Deepika Padukone all in the span of a single year, all of which were huge not just for her but also for the country, it’s safe to say that Deepika Padukone ruled the year. It will be very difficult for her contemporaries to achieve the kind of stardom that she is facing right now.
